The National Registry Board of Directors met on August 17, 2020 for an abbreviated virtual meeting to address business matters not addressed during its June, 2020 meeting. The following items were addressed/discussed:

• New Board Director: Mr. Braxton Morrison started his term as the new NREMT At-Large (EMT) member of the Board of Directors. Braxton is from Vinton, IA and is a paramedic with experience and background in EMS, law enforcement, and education.
• Distributed Education Limit Waiver for 2021 Recertification Season: . Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the National Registry of EMTs Board of Directors responded with a decision to waive the distributed education (DE) limits in the NCCP Model for the 2021 recertification season. The 2021 recertification season for NREMT, NRAEMT, and NPR ends March 31, 2021 and for NREMR, the season ends September 30, 2021. This action will help to lessen exposure risks, yet still allow for EMS professionals to maintain their national certification. The Board sought and reviewed input from a wide array of stakeholders and liaison organizations before making the decision to waive the established limit. DE limits will be restored for the 2022 recertification cycle. More details on this action can be found at the COVID-19 National EMS Certification Information page.
• Provisional Certification: The Board passed a motion to cease issuing new provisional certifications after 12/31/2020. After that date, the National Registry will no longer issue new provisional certifications. EMS professionals with an existing provisional certification will have up until 12/31/2021 to convert their provisional certification to a full certification. If an EMS professional does not convert their provisional certification, the provisional certification expires. The Board sought the input from stakeholders, in particular state EMS officials, before taking this action.
• 50th Anniversary Celebration and November, 2020 Board meeting The Board of Directors passed a motion to postpone the National Registry’s 50th Anniversary celebration until November 5, 2021. Due to the uncertainty of when travel will be resumed, the Board wanted to move the celebration until late 2021 to increase the probability of successfully having the signature event. Also, the Board will have its November 5/6, 2020 meeting virtually.
• Converting Provisional Certification to a full Certification The Board discussed alternative methods to convert provisional certifications to full certifications, especially considering that over 10,000 provisional certifications have been issued during the pandemic. Provisional certifications issued during the pandemic will expire on 12/31/2021. After 12/31/2020, no more provisional certifications will be issued (see above). Converting from a provisional certification to a full certification requires successful completion of the psychomotor examination. The Board approved a motion to have National Registry staff, in concert with the Standards and Examinations Committee, recommend standards to have a potential physician sign-off on active provisionally certified EMS professionals and/or suggest acceptable alternatives in lieu of completing the psychomotor examination to gain full certification. The findings and recommendations will be provided to the Board in November 2020 for consideration and approval.
• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in EMS (IDEA) Task Force. The IDEA task force, led by Dr. Heather Davis, had its inaugural meeting on August 7, 2020. The task force was formed to address systemic racism and inequality within the nationwide EMS community. The task force has representatives from across the EMS industry and will be providing concrete actionable items to prevent and eradicate racism, as well as promote equality. The Task Force is scheduled to meet again in early September 2020.
• Alternative Certification Credits. The Board approved a policy to permit alternative credit towards recertification, in addition to traditional hours-based credits. The alternative options for credit include National Registry examination development activities, recent completion of IBSC examinations, IBSC examination development activities and approved refresher training. The alternatives for credit towards recertification policy is subject to public comment before the Board of Directors takes final approval action to enact it.
• Motions/Resolutions approved by the Board. Click here to provide comments and feedback
• 52.46A Recertification Credits for NREMT Examinations
• 52.46B Recent Completion of IBSC Examinations
• 52.46C IBSC Examination Development 2
• 52.46D IBSC Approved Refresher Training
• 54.46 - Alternative Recertification Credit FINAL DRAFT

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National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Board of Directors Online Meeting Summary